1978 Buffalo Bills season
19th season in franchise history
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The 1978 Buffalo Bills season was the franchise's 9th season in the National Football League, and the 19th overall. The Bills were coming off a season in which they only won three games, making 1978 a slight improvement.
| 1978 Buffalo Bills season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Ralph Wilson |
| Head coach | Chuck Knox |
| Home stadium | Rich Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 5–11 |
| Division place | 4th AFC East |
| Playoffs | Did not qualify |
| All-Pros | G Joe DeLamielleure (2nd team) |
| Pro Bowlers | G Joe DeLamielleure |
Head coach Chuck Knox began his first season with the team, having coached the Los Angeles Rams for the previous five seasons.[note 1] It was also Buffalo's first season after the departure of star running back O. J. Simpson, who was traded to San Francisco for five draft picks in the offseason.
The Bills offense acquired a pair of weapons for quarterback Joe Ferguson: wide receiver Frank Lewis, who had spent the previous 7 seasons in Pittsburgh, and rookie running back Terry Miller, who ended the season with over 1,000 yards.[note 2]
The 1978 Bills' run defense allowed an NFL record 3,228 rushing yards; the 677 rushing attempts the Bills faced in 1978 is also an NFL record.[1] Oddly, the Bills were first in the league in yards allowed on pass defense, giving up only 1,960 yards through the air.[2]
Buffalo's week eight victory over the Cincinnati Bengals produced the second 5–0 final score in modern NFL history (since 1933); the other was a 1970 NFC divisional playoff between the Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions.
Offseason
Draft
| 1978 Buffalo Bills draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Terry Miller | Running back | Oklahoma State | |
| 2 | 32 | Dee Hardison | Defensive end | North Carolina | |
| 2 | 38 | Scott Hutchinson | Defensive end | Florida | |
| 3 | 59 | Dennis Johnson | Running back | Mississippi State | |
| 3 | 65 | Danny Fulton | Wide receiver | Nebraska–Omaha | |
| 4 | 89 | Lucius Sanford | Linebacker | Georgia Tech | |
| 5 | 114 | Ken Spaeth | Tight end | Nebraska | |
| 6 | 145 | Eric Smith | Offensive tackle | Southern Miss | |
| 7 | 171 | Mario Celotto | Linebacker | USC | |
| 7 | 183 | Steve Powell | Running back | NE Missouri State | |
| 10 | 255 | Will Grant | Center | Kentucky | |
| 11 | 282 | Jerry Blanton | Linebacker | Kentucky | |
| 12 | 309 | Richard Crump | Running back | Northeast Oklahoma A&M | |
| Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career | |||||
Undrafted free agents
Personnel
Staff/coaches
| 1978 Buffalo Bills staff | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Front office
Coaching staff
Offensive coaches
Defensive/special teams coaches
| ||||||
Roster
Regular season
Schedule
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 3 | Pittsburgh Steelers | L 17–28 | 0–1 | Rich Stadium | 64,147 | |
| 2 | September 10 | New York Jets | L 20–21 | 0–2 | Rich Stadium | 40,985 | |
| 3 | September 17 | at Miami Dolphins | L 24–31 | 0–3 | Miami Orange Bowl | 48,373 | |
| 4 | September 24 | Baltimore Colts | W 24–17 | 1–3 | Rich Stadium | 55,270 | |
| 5 | October 1 | Kansas City Chiefs | W 28–13 | 2–3 | Rich Stadium | 47,310 | |
| 6 | October 8 | at New York Jets | L 14–45 | 2–4 | Shea Stadium | 44,545 | |
| 7 | October 15 | at Houston Oilers | L 10–17 | 2–5 | Astrodome | 47,727 | |
| 8 | October 22 | Cincinnati Bengals | W 5–0 | 3–5 | Rich Stadium | 47,754 | |
| 9 | October 29 | at Cleveland Browns | L 20–41 | 3–6 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 51,409 | |
| 10 | November 5 | New England Patriots | L 10–14 | 3–7 | Rich Stadium | 44,897 | |
| 11 | November 12 | Miami Dolphins | L 24–25 | 3–8 | Rich Stadium | 48,623 | |
| 12 | November 19 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | L 10–31 | 3–9 | Tampa Stadium | 61,383 | |
| 13 | November 26 | New York Giants | W 41–17 | 4–9 | Rich Stadium | 28,496 | |
| 14 | December 3 | at Kansas City Chiefs | L 10–14 | 4–10 | Arrowhead Stadium | 25,781 | |
| 15 | December 10 | at New England Patriots | L 24–26 | 4–11 | Schaefer Stadium | 59,598 | |
| 16 | December 17 | at Baltimore Colts | W 21–14 | 5–11 | Memorial Stadium | 25,415 | |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. | |||||||
Season summary
Week 1
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Steelers | 0 | 14 | 0 | 14 | 28 |
| Bills | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 17 |
- Date: September 3, 1978
- Location: Rich Stadium • Orchard Park, NY
- Game start: 1:00 PM EST
- Game attendance: 64,147
- Game weather: 67 °F or 19.4 °C • 13 miles per hour (21 km/h; 11 kn)
- Referee: Fred Silva
- TV announcers (NBC): Jay Randolph and Mike Haffner
Week 4
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colts | 0 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 17 |
| • Bills | 14 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
- Date: September 24
- Location: Rich Stadium
- Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
- Game weather: 56 °F or 13.3 °C; wind 11 miles per hour (18 km/h; 9.6 kn)
- Referee: Cal Lepore
| Q1 | BUF | Gant 19 yard pass from Ferguson (Dempsey kick) | BUF 7–0 | |
| Q1 | BUF | Lewis 28 yard pass from Ferguson (Dempsey kick) | BUF 14–0 | |
| Q2 | BAL | Leaks 17 yard pass from Troup (Linhart kick) | BUF 14–7 | |
| Q2 | BAL | McCall 5 yard blocked punt return (Linhart kick) | Tie 14–14 | |
| Q2 | BUF | Brown 102 yard kickoff return (Dempsey kick) | BUF 21–14 | |
| Q2 | BUF | Dempsey 21 yard field goal | BUF 24–14 | |
| Q3 | BAL | Linhart 21 yard field goal | BUF 24–17 | |
Week 5
Week Five: Kansas City Chiefs at Buffalo Bills – Game summary
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chiefs | 6 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 13 |
| Bills | 0 | 21 | 7 | 0 | 28 |
at Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York
- Date: October 1
- Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT/12:00 p.m. CST
- Game weather: 60 °F (16 °C)
- Game attendance: 47,310
- Referee: Gordon McCarter
- TV: NBC
- Box score
| Game information |
|---|
First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
|
Week 10
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Patriots | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
| Bills | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 10 |
- Date: September 24
- Location: Rich Stadium
- Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
- Game attendance: 44,897
- Game weather: 56 °F or 13.3 °C; wind 13 miles per hour (21 km/h; 11 kn)
- Referee: Chuck Heberling
- TV announcers (NBC): Sam Nover and Len Dawson
Week 13 vs. Giants
Week Thirteen: New York Giants (5–7) at Buffalo Bills (3–9)
at Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York
- Date: November 26, 1978
- Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
- Game weather: 23 °F (−5 °C)
- Game attendance: 28,496
- Referee: Red Cashion
- TV announcers (CBS): Pat Summerall and Tom Brookshier
- Box Score
| Game information |
|---|
First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
|
Week 14 at Chiefs
Week Fourteen: Buffalo Bills (4–9) at Kansas City Chiefs (4–9)
at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri
- Date: December 3
- Game time: 1:00 p.m. CDT
- Game weather: 24 °F (−4 °C)
- Game attendance: 25,781
- Referee: Fred Silva
- TV announcers (NBC): Jay Randolph and Mike Haffner
- Box score
| Game information |
|---|
First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
|
Standings
| 1978 AFC East standings | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| (2) New England Patriots | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 6–2 | 9–3 | 358 | 286 | L1 |
| (4) Miami Dolphins | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 5–3 | 8–4 | 372 | 254 | W3 |
| New York Jets | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 6–2 | 7–5 | 359 | 364 | L2 |
| Buffalo Bills | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 2–6 | 4–10 | 302 | 354 | W1 |
| Baltimore Colts | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 1–7 | 3–9 | 239 | 421 | L5 |
Player stats
Passing
Note: Comp = Completions; ATT = Attempts; TD = Touchdowns; INT = Interceptions
| Player | Games | Completions | Attempts | Yards | TD | INT | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Ferguson | 16 | 175 | 330 | 2136 | 16 | 15 | 70.5 |
Special teams
Note: FGA = Field Goals Attempted; FGM = Field Goals Made; FG% = Field goal percentage; XPA = Extra Points Attempted; XPM = Extra Points Made; XP% = Extra Points Percentage
| Player | Games | FGA | FGM | FG % | XPA | XPM | XP % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Dempsey | 16 | 13 | 10 | 76.9% | 38 | 36 | 94.7% |
Video Archives
Notes
- Knox would coach the Bills for five seasons – through the 1982 season – before leaving for Seattle.
- Miller's 1,060 yards would be the only 1,000-yard total of his three year career in Buffalo.